Bristol Bears rack up record-breaking 85 points against lowly Newcastle Falcons to move into top four
Ellis Genge for Bristol Bears against Newcastle Falcons.
Bristol Bears ran in 13 tries as they hammered struggling Newcastle Falcons 85-14 on Sunday in a result that propels them into the top four of the Premiership standings.
Siva Naulago, James Dun, Max Malins, Magnus Bradbury, James Williams, Ellis Genge, Benhard Janse van Rensburg (2), Harry Randall, Kieran Marmion, Jake Heenan and Virimi Vakatawa (2) all crossed the whitewash in a rampant showing at Ashton Gate.
The Bears‘ whopping 85 points is a record score for a home team in Premiership history as they jump above Harlequins, who lost 37-31 to Sale Sharks, in the league standings.
Click here for scorers
Pat Lam’s team scored more than 50 points for the third home game in a row and they did not disappoint Newcastle‘s consultant rugby director Steve Diamond, who had compared their all-action style to the Harlem Globetrotters.
Newcastle’s 15th league defeat of the season was confirmed with indecent haste as Bristol scored their bonus-point try after just 15 minutes – the fastest Premiership points maximum for 20 years.
Bristol’s Premiership run-in is not straightforward – Leicester away, Saracens at home and Harlequins at the Twickenham Stoop – but they are a team high on confidence and could take some stopping in terms of clinching a top-four place.
It took Bristol just 83 seconds to open their account, and they did it in style through a long-range move started by Naulago, who linked impressively with scrum-half Harry Randall before collecting his scoring pass.
AJ MacGinty converted, and alarm bells were ringing even louder for Newcastle four minutes later when Bristol went through their forwards from a close-range line-out and Dun crashed over.
MacGinty’s conversion opened up a 14-point lead, and there was more to come with only nine minutes gone after prop Genge’s pass sent Malins through on a searing angle for another easy touchdown.
Newcastle were in all kinds of strife, but they then conjured a score from nowhere when the elusive Adam Radwan gathered and finished impressively on a 40-metre dash to the line, with Brett Connon converting.
Impressive Sale Sharks hold off Harlequins to keep play-off hopes alive
A quick-fire bonus-point try was inevitable and it duly arrived after Randall took a quick penalty before the supporting Bradbury touched down.
Newcastle secured pockets of possession that briefly helped stem the tide, but Bristol’s dominance was overwhelming and try number five came when Williams capitalised on weak defence and MacGinty kicked his fourth conversion.
The one-way traffic continued towards half-time as Genge helped himself to a solo score, then Van Rensburg touched down wide out, with MacGinty adding two more conversions for a 47-7 interval advantage.
Bristol boss Lam made a raft changes just five minutes into the second period, such was his team’s control, with Genge, his fellow prop Kye Sinckler, MacGinty and flanker Steven Luatua among those going off.
Inevitably, there weas no let-up, with Randall sprinting clear to score Bristol’s eighth try – Williams converted – then replacement scrum-half Marmion crossed, with Williams’ extras taking the home team past 60 points.
Newcastle responded through an interception try for Connon, that he also converted, but Heenan then added Bristol’s 10th touchdown before Van Rensburg and Vakatawa’s late brace completed the rout.
The teams
Bristol Bears: 15 Max Malins, 14 Siva Naulago, 13 Benhard Janse van Rensburg, 12 James Williams, 11 Gabriel Ibitoye, 10 AJ MacGinty, 9 Harry Randall, 8 Magnus Bradbury, 7 Fitz Harding (c), 6 Steven Luatua, 5 Josh Caulfield, 4 James Dun, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 2 Gabriel Oghre, 1 Ellis Genge
Replacements: 16 Will Capon, 17 Yann Thomas, 18 Max Lahiff, 19 Joe Owen, 20 Jake Heenan, 21 Kieran Marmion, 22 Virimi Vakatawa, 23 Rich Lane
Newcastle Falcons: 15 Ben Redshaw, 14 Adam Radwan, 13 Oli Spencer, 12 Tom Penny, 11 Iwan Stephens, 10 Brett Connon, 9 Sam Stuart, 8 Callum Chick (c), 7 Sam Cross, 6 Philip van der Walt, 5 Sebastian de Chaves, 4 Tim Cardall, 3 Richard Palframan, 2 Jamie Blamire, 1 Adam Brocklebank
Replacements: 16 Bryan Byrne, 17 Mark Dormer, 18 Eduardo Bello, 19 John Kelly, 20 Freddie Lockwood, 21 Max Pepper, 22 Rory Jennings, 23 Matias Moroni
Referee: Luke Pearce
Assistant Referees: Andrew Jackson, Simon Harding
TMO: Stuart Terheege